Antagonist is basically the opposing muscle structure that makes the bodypart move the opposite way (for example, if your bicep is the "agonist" for bending your arm, the "antagonist" would be your triceps which straightens the arm).
Aside from performing the opposite movement, they also act as stabilizers around the joint. The agonists for climbing specific motions like the forerarm flexors, can become overdeveloped in relation to the antagonists (forearm extensor in this case) and contribute to connective tissue and/or joint problems because they cause the movement around that joint to be misaligned or concentrate the stresses on particular spots within the connective tissue.
Aerili
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Jan 19, 2012
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Los Alamos, NM
· Joined Mar 2007
· Points: 1,875
Phalanges wrote: Okay...inside...outside...lets just call it elbow tendinopathy. I think we're getting caught up in the semantics here
To me (and any medical professionals out there [which I am not]), it is actually not semantics. It's a significant difference. Rehab is not identical for the two.
And thanks for the Dr. J article. Although I really have to say, I think he made that term up.